Unlovable to a Fault
by aeschtunesfan
Summary: "Stop lying to me! I'm a monster! You could never love me!" he said. "No... you're not the monster around here. I am. I'm the one that you could never love. I'm not a person, not according to most people back home." I replied. And he stared at me as though I had grown a second head. LudwigxOC being revamped
1. AN 1 About Revamp

Hey y'all, sorry I've been gone for so long. I'm working on re-writing the beginning of this fanfiction and editing old scenes from "Fiancee" to fit the new flow of this story. I've dropped the idea of the other story I had been speaking of in the last Author's Note. I'll also write chapter segments on how I'm setting up the cultures of the Darklands and the Mushroom Kingdom respectively, and a chapter to explain why the main female will act the way she does. She's also getting revamped. I think this might be the time I get this story right.

So, I'm sorry that this isn't a new chapter, but I'll try to get one of the explanation chapters posted soon. It will all be put under this story that already exists. I think I might have it right this time.

I've been busy with school, therapy, learning how to handle being in a romantic relationship, and many other things for the last several months. I'll try better to get chapters written and update this story!

~aeschtunesfan July 31st, 2015


	2. Background on HeroineKatJitt

Our heroine is going through another name change, and is now named Tatiana, but refers to herself as Tiana when she is nervous when she first meets Kat and Jitt. Her old name of Jerrica felt off to me, and I didn't want to go back to Emily, since I have too many characters named Emily already. Tatiana suffers from depression as well as extremely high levels of anxiety. Her depression causes her judgement and analysis of situations to become clouded, always in a darker manner than they really are. She sees herself as ugly, horrid, less than human, since her brain doesn't create enough serontonin to counteract those emotions and she is stuck in a depressive spiral. This story is from her point of view, HOWEVER, when she starts ragging on herself or talking about how everyone hates her, that's NOT what is really going on around her. It's what her depression is tricking her into thinking. Her anxiety makes it hard for her to accept compliments, so she commonly replies to compliments with "not really", or "I don't think I am..."

Kat is the bubbly, optimistic Koopa whom is in charge of clothing and make-up in the castle. She is overly optimistic, bubbly, happy. She takes everything and exaggerates it to the most positive she feels she can make out of it. She talks about Tiana as being beautiful, adorable, gorgeous... but that's just because she CAN'T say anything mean to anyone- she has been cursed with that. She also can not stand to see anyone sad, so she stands up for Tiana when others treat her horribly.

Jitt is the dark, gloomy, short-tempered, gay koopa whom is Kat's assistant. He is obsessed with Ludwig, with feelings he identifies as "love". He hates the idea of any girl getting close to or marrying his precious prince Ludwig. However, after being rejected by the prince 16 times, he decides to help out the last ditch effort for a bride for Ludwig, Tiana, since if he can't be with Ludwig, he may as fucking well help out the girl whom has no choice, and hope he can get Ludwig to at least tolerate her. Jitt is very jealous and possessive, and says horrible things to Tiana. He has no people skills and is very dark and violent. He calls her ugly and useless since that is how he treats all women whom have been brought to try to match with Ludwig, and all women interested in Ludwig in general. And most women, actually. He is rude and a jerk and tends to twist things to the most negative that they can be.

Reality is somewhere in-between what you're told by Kat and what you're told by Jitt.

Narrator POV will come into play occasionally so reality can be seen for what it really is.

Tiana is mainly average, appearance wise, intelligence wise, athletic wise... the main thing that sets her apart from anyone else is her mental disorders of depression and anxiety, and how large her heart is (metaphorically of course). She puts others before herself and always stands up for others. She wants everyone around her to smile. She wants to build people up. Since she knows what it feels like to have no one stand up for you, to be stuck frowning all the time, to be torn down endlessly, and wants NO ONE to feel that way. Ever.

However, that is not her motivation to get through this story. But her motivation won't be revealed until the end of the story.

Next time- the politics of Bowser's kingdom, the line of succession, and background on Ludwig!

Followed by- the politics of the Mushroom Kingdom, The Toadstool Family, and Innocenza?

And finally- Chapter one of this revamped version of this story!

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear what y'all think of this story of mine!

~aeschtunesfan August 10th, 2015 10:28 am PDT


	3. Dark Land Gov Line of Succession Ludwig

The way the Dark Land Kingdom is set up in this story has the Dark Land split into 7 provinces, with a central throne ruling over the 7 provinces. Currently, the 'kings' of each province are dear friends of Bowser himself, or as close to friends as he has; they are mainly just high-ups in his military force. As the Koopalings and Junior become of age, Bowser will appoint them to replace the current 'kings' of each province, since each of those 'kings' is only a regent, and also name whom will be Bowser's successor for the center throne. Bowser plans to step down from power and give the throne to his successor as soon as he physically can, since there are rumors spreading in the Dark Land that there are plans to murder Bowser to force him off the throne because of all the bungled attempts at kidnapping Princess Peach and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, and the amount of citizens whom have been killed in these bungled attempts. There is also anger at how high tax rates are because of the unending war with the Mushroom Kingdom because of all the bungled attempts.

Right now, the public of the Dark Land believes in either one of two theories: one, Ludwig will be appointed to the center throne since he is the oldest as wisest, or Bowser Junior will be appointed to the center throne since he is clearly Bowser's favorite. The belief also tends to be that whichever one is not on the center throne will be put in charge of the Volcanic province, the province that surrounds the capital city. The capital, like America's Washington D.C. counts as its own piece of land, and not part of the surrounding state/province. But as of currently, no one besides Bowser, and myself, know what the line of succession is truly going to be.

However, before any of his children take their respective thrones, the law of the Dark Land requires for them to be married so they can try to sire heirs. Heirs of each respective monarch of each province (and Capital City) are considered first choice for each throne, but if the Monarch of the center throne deems them unsuited for a position of power, an heir can be chosen by the Monarch from the top generals of the military, his own children, or anyone he thinks he should appoint to the position. Most rulers of the Dark Land have been male, so all of their official documentation and explanations of their government are written with male pronouns.

Finally, we must talk a little bit of Ludwig Von Koopa himself.

He is a musician, especially of piano, and he adores Beethoven. He is known for being responsible and wise, although he has a short-temper and is known to brood. He tends to prefer to stay to himself, locked up in his room. He has a reputation of being attractive amongst the population of the Dark Land, but has shown no interest in anyone to be his life partner, except for a girl named Fleur whom ended up in the military and killed under Mario's shoe. He has refused to even think of romance or romantic relationships, or even physical intimacy with anyone since then. However, Bowser has decided to appoint Ludwig to one of the thrones, so he must gain a wife to sire heirs with, and since time is running out before Ludwig becomes of age, Bowser decides to send his minions to kidnap a random girl, and force Ludwig to marry her, whether he likes her or not, for the sake of producing heirs. This is why Tatiana was kidnapped.

Alright, so now there's just the AN explaining the Mushroom Kingdom, the Mushroom/Dark Conflict, and about a mysterious person I mentioned in a previous version of this story, whom is making a come back, named Innocenza. Then, finally, will the first chapter of this story be posted! Sorry for how long this is taking, high school has swamped me with work, and so has filling out college applications! I hope to get this off the ground soon!

-aeschtunesfan 10:18 pm PST December 8, 2015


	4. Peach, Bowser, Innocenza

This installment is to talk about the conflict between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands (my version of it for this story, since this is a separate universe from what is officially cannon); the set up of the Mushroom Kingdom Monarchy; and of a character referenced in the original form of this story, Innocenza Toadstool-Mario (since I am making Mario's last name Mario in this universe), whom is a central pillar to this story in all of the forms it has been in through all of the revisions it has faced.

So firstly, the conflict. It may be a surprise to you all, but back when they were all toddlers, in daycare together, Bowser and Peach were best friends. Mario was an annoying kid whom they didn't get along with very well, until they learned of the corruption of Peach's mother, Queen Cherry, whom had been conquering nearby kingdoms and sending the Mushroom Kingdom off to war. The three of them were highly intelligent for toddlers, hence why their baby forms for Mario and Peach can drive carts, and rounded up all of Queen Cherry's prisoners of war and slaves and got help from the Dark Lands, whom at that point were led by Bowser's Uncle. Bowser's father was the younger sibling, and was not given the main throne. He had the Volcanic Province throne. He, along with King Morton Koopa, used their own armies to help support the rebellion that Peach, Mario, and Bowser led. This event came to be known as the Revolution of Rebellion.

However, by the time they became teenagers, Mario and Bowser both gained obsessions with Peach as she grew into the beautiful woman she is now. Bowser was much more possessive and obsessive than Mario was, and continuously became heartbroken as Peach calmly turned him down and asked to stay friends. When the three of them turned 18, King Morton Koopa appointed Bowser as his heir to the main throne, since King Morton had no children of his own, and arranged a marriage between Bowser and Clawdia. The clutch of eggs that are known as the koopalings came to be around 3 months after Bowser and Clawdia married, and hatched 5 months after that. However, there were 8 other eggs from that clutch that died. Koopa eggs are quite small compared to full size Koopas. They're about 2x the size of a chicken egg, and they hatch very small. About 13 years after this, the clutch of eggs that Bowser Jr. is from came to be, with Jr. being the only survivor of the clutch of 12 eggs. Ludwig and the other koopalings are all around 18 years old, and Bowser Jr. is about 5. Ludwig hatched about a month and a half earlier than the other koopalings, making him the oldest. Shortly after Clawdia laid the eggs for Jr's clutch, she died from pneumonia. At this point, crazed, obsessed, possessive Bowser began to chase after Peach and began to kidnap her. Mario, her husband, came to rescue her every time. Peach had married Mario about 11 years and nine months previously. Bowser knew this. He was there, and was Mario's best man. But he was driven insane by the death of his wife and the fact he has 8 kids, and began to hunt down the "love of his life" as he sees her. This has led to wars and distrust between the two kingdoms, yet Peach still invites Bowser to play sports with them, race against them, and play board games with them in hopes of her dearest, closest friend returning to normal.

The Mushroom Kingdom is led by Peach, and it is a traditional monarchy. It holds a truce with many surrounding lands, and so they are labelled as "mushroom kingdom territory", but still hold their individuals lines of monarchy. These are the "worlds" Mario travels through to get to the princess in his adventures. The current heir to the Mushroom Kingdom is the one and only child of Peach and Mario, Innocenza Lemon Toadstool-Mario, whom is about a year younger than Ludwig. However, 6 months before the story begins, she mysteriously vanished, and no one knows what happened to her (besides me). Tatiana, despite having green hair, is almost identical to Innocenza, and this leads to one of the major conflicts later on.

So, that's all the background that needs to be known to understand the story. I hope you all enjoy it! Please read and review!

~aeschtunesfan 10:10 pm PST on January 18th, 2016


	5. Only The Beginning

**_Chapter 1- Only the Beginning:_**

When people look at me, it isn't a person that they see. Normally, when people look at me, I must look like a punching bag or something to that effect. Why else would they throw such harsh words in my face, or push me into walls or lockers? Why else would they try to touch me in ways I'm not comfortable with? Why else would they toy with my feelings? I dunno, maybe I'm trying to read too much into it, but I think it's cause they don't see me as human. They see me as less than them.

I'm a 5'3", flat-chested, scrawny girl, only seventeen years of age. My hair is a light green, unmanageable, and stretches down to the middle of my back tied into two braids that have several flyaway hairs sticking out since my hair refuses to be manageable. My eyes are the blue of the sky I love to stare at when I lay in the grass relaxing in the afternoon. My skin is pale, and I blush extremely easily. There a few zits here and there. I wear baggy t-shirts and ratty jeans, things that cause people to assume I'm a twelve year old boy when they see me for the first time. My appearance is nothing more than average. I'm not athletic, I hate sports and I can't do anything athletic without injuring myself. I'm clumsy and end up doing more to harm the teams I am on than to help them. I am just a burden to them. I sing in my school's choir, and this is my sixth year in choir, however, I'm nowhere near as good as the other members of the choir at singing. I'm decent, and it doesn't cause anyone to lose their hearing to listen to me, but I'm nowhere near as good as professional singers. I draw and write in my spare time, but I never show anyone my drawings, and everything I write either is extremely corny or extremely depressing. There is no in-between.

I either talk way too much, or not enough. All I do is annoy the people around me. That's what other people always tell me, anyways. And it's what I believe. It's why I believe I am unlovable. And I don't think anything will ever change that. However, life doesn't always dredge on in the same old monotonous pattern. That's what I learned today. That's what I learned as I walked home from school down the same path I always walk home down. It's what I learned as I walked by an alleyway, smelled something sweet, and then collapsed into the sultry embrace of darkness and unconsciousness.

* * *

We were just some Koopa Knights, servants to the King of Koopas, King Bowser. We were assigned on a task of finding a teenage girl to bring to the castle. Ludwig was supposed to be taking the throne once his seventeenth birthday hit, and he is supposed to get married during his coronation to ensure that he will have heirs. However, Prince Ludwig currently had no girlfriend, no mate, no fiancée, and no romantic relationship with a girl… it is our job to fix that. He either has to choose a girl from the Dark Land capital and marry her, or he'll be forced to marry the girl we bring to castle on his birthday before the crown is handed over to him. It would be wonderful if he could actually gain feelings for the girl we grab, but that probably won't happen. He'll at least learn to tolerate her and use her as a factory for making heirs, but other than that, he probably won't like her. He hasn't felt any romantic feelings towards any girls since his girlfriend died three years ago.

We also had some criteria. The girl must be human- supposedly that will strengthen the offspring's immune system and allow more offspring to survive to become heirs. King Bowser actually sired over 20 heirs, but only 8 survived longer than a week after birth. The girl also had to be near Ludwig's own age, and at least look decent. We had no idea what "decent" looks like for a human, since they are an extremely rare sight in Dark Land, and we had never seen a human girl before. We all had seen Mario, however, so we all knew that someone who looked like Mario was automatically out. We, Koopie, Koopzin, and I, Koopsumi, were sent out to find a girl and bring her to the castle by any means necessary, meaning we have to knock her out and kidnap her, bringing her to the castle against her will. That's when we saw her. She was taller than the average Koopa by about 3 inches, but still shorter than the members of the royal family, besides Wendy, Lemmy, and Jr. by about 4 to 5 inches. She was the same height as Wendy, about 5 inches taller than Lemmy, and about 10 inches taller than Jr. She had light hair… and she had curves to an amount that showed that she was a girl but also didn't make her seem like a slut or a whore. And… she was also the first girl we saw.

We saw no reason to put any effort into this assignment, Prince Ludwig probably wouldn't end up choosing a girl he liked anyways, so why go out of our way to get him an attractive future wife that he may get along with? So, as soon as we saw her, we sprayed her with a special serum from the Dark Land that only knocks out humans, and we caught her as she fell and quickly slunk back to the castle. Prince Ludwig would be meeting her at dinner. She should wake up in half an hour, so we'll send Kat and Jitt up to her room around then to help her get dressed and prepped for meeting Prince Ludwig. Hopefully she won't make too much of a fool of herself, since she'll probably have to live with Prince Ludwig for the rest of her life… and she probably doesn't want to be married to a husband whom is always irate with her and ended up hating her within the first few minutes of meeting her. It is going to be fun to see where this all goes. So, we gently laid her on the queen sized bed that had blue sheets, meant to match the signature color of her future husband, and we walked out, locking the door from the outside so she couldn't escape.

We now had a future wife for Prince Ludwig, so we completed our mission. We can go and rest now. For finishing this mission, we won't be sent to the front lines to fight Mario when he comes again to take Princess Peach from our grasp. We hope that King Bowser doesn't dislike our choice of girl, since we have no idea what "decent" for a human looks like. We worry about this because if he does dislike the girl we brought on grounds that she doesn't fit our mission criteria, we'll be used as meat shields that Mario has to kill off before he can challenge our King, as the final barrier between Mario and our King. What we want most is to live.

* * *

I opened up my eyes, and I saw I was in an unfamiliar, round, stone room with a single wooden door and no windows. I was lying on a bed with dark blue sheets and a pink blanket. The floor was stone. There is a wardrobe on the far side of the room. I do not recognize my surroundings, and I feel very, very scared. I don't know what to do. I feel the fear and panic rise up through me, and I begin to breathe in and out heavily while curling myself into a ball, with my arms around my legs, and I begin to rock back and forth. That is when I heard the most ominous sound I could think of in that instant; a long, loud, knock on the large, wooden door. I froze, terrified. I, Tatiana Anastasia Greene, had no idea what to do, and I was in an unfamiliar location and was undoubtedly kidnapped. I heard the knock on the door again, louder and longer this time. My captor was probably getting annoyed with me. Afraid of getting on my captor's bad side, I did the only thing I could think of.

"H-hello..? W-whoever's there… you can come in…" I said, in a small, timid voice. And with a click, two figures stood in front of me. They had opened the door to both the room, and to the changes that were about to occur in my life. Who knows what I'll find on the other side of the door. But I don't get to find out now, since the two figures closed the door behind them.

"Hi, my name is Kat Koopa!" said the figure on the left enthusiastically, and she had long, pitch-black hair and an ebony shell, looking very much like the Koopas from the _Mario _series, which is probably where her surname comes from.

"And I am Jitt Koopa," said the figure on the right, unenthused. He had short, spiky, neon pink hair, and a shell that was white with orange splotches. "We're here to help you get dressed and prepared for meeting Prince Ludwig von Koopa at dinner. What is your name?"

"M-my name…?" I said as fear filled my voice, my eyes, my entire being, "My name is… Tiana… Tiana Greene." I said, shortening my name to what most substitute teachers call me at school. I was too scared to say my full name. What if they wanted to sell me? What if they wanted to torture me or hurt me? I didn't feel comfortable giving them my full name.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Tiana!" said Kat.

"Yes, it is very nice to meet you," said Jitt, "and now, it is time for us to get started on getting you ready."

"Yes," said Kat, "it is time to begin!" Kat smiled brightly at me. And with that, my life began into a drastic change.


	6. Glitter and Gold

**Chapter 2- ****_Glitter and Gold_**

~T~

"Time to begin what…?" I asked nervously to Kat. Kat smiled at me deviously, making me feel very, very concerned.

"Time to begin preparing you to have dinner with the Koopa who is probably going to be your future husband, of course!" said Kat sunnily, making me feel increasingly more worried.

"Preparing me… how?" I asked, taking a step backward from Kat, my voice becoming very quiet out of fear. I had a vague idea what she meant based on the tone of her voice, but… maybe it wasn't… _that_. Please don't let it be _that_… please dear God no…

"By putting you in a pretty dress and doing your make-up Tiana-dearie," Kat said throwing her hands into the air. "And luckily for Jitt and me, we got a super adorable model here to work with! We're only going to need to do a minimal amount of make-up, and we'll get to put you in _it_, my favorite dress of all the ones we have cause you look small enough to fit in it, and of course we're gonna curl your hair and put some pretty flowers in it… we're gonna give you a makeover and put you in beautiful clothes! It'll be so much fun!" And… there it was. Of course, it had to be… _that_. It had to be her wanting to dress me up and give me a makeover. For some reason, girls really want to do that to me all of the time. They see me as a dress up doll. And there's that word again, "adorable", the word all of the girls who want to give me makeovers always refer to me as. I don't see how I could be "adorable"… I'm not pretty, not cute, not beautiful… look at all of the girls in beauty magazines, and in anime and manga and cartoons and videogames… they're pretty, beautiful, cute, adorable… not me. I'm nothing compared to them.

"Oh… um… wonderful, Miss Kat…" I said, feeling fear bubbling up within me, afraid of what they might do to me in this "makeover", what they might dress me in. Usually when people give me makeovers, they slather my face in many layers of make-up, curl my hair heavily and use hairspray to hold it in place, and dress me tightly fitting clothing that cuts down low in the front and has really short bottoms attached to it. They would force me into stiletto heels, and then tell me that I was now "beautiful" and that I looked "a thousand times better than I usually do" and that I should dress like that "more often"… they would say that and then start snickering and taking pictures which they would send to other students at our school which they would tease me about once I was back at school. I was afraid of what these Koopas might do to me. I soon learned that I had nothing to fear from what they were doing to me.

Within the next hour and a half, Kat and Jitt helped me undress and got me into a silver ball gown paired with a navy blue jacket. Which, ironically are my school colors, but I don't think those two know that. The silver gown glittered in the light, and the neck was like that of a turtleneck. The dress itself had no sleeves, and was paired with the navy blue jacket to keep my arms covered and keep me "properly covered" for being in public and being in the presence of the entirety of the royal family. The top portion fit snugly to my upper-body and accentuated my chest to show that I do actually have curves. They're nowhere near as big as the breasts that super models have, but they're at least somewhat noticeable, and compared to Kat's body, they're quite large. The dress widens at my waist and becomes a flowing skirt that goes down to the floor.

"See, I was right!" said Kat, _"_It_ did_ fit on you pretty much perfectly! Now, it's time to let Jitt do your hair and make-up! Oh, you're going to be so cute! Even Prince Ludwig should realize how cute you are! He might not end up liking you at first, but at least he'll think you're cute, and that will be absolutely wonderful and then you'll be able to-"

"Shut your mouth, Kat, she shouldn't know about that. Not yet." Said Jitt, before he sat me down in a chair; he turned the chair so it was not facing the mirror, and he began curling my hair, spraying with hairspray so his handiwork wouldn't get ruined. He then had me close my eyes, and he applied eye shadow to my eyes, in a silver shade, and put light pink lipstick on my lips. Jitt smiled, and then he clipped a black bracelet to my wrist.

"This," he said, "is a shock bracelet. It will electrocute you if you try to hurt any member of the royal family, try to escape the castle, or try to take your own life. It automatically shuts off if Bowser were to be defeated by someone who rescues you, but we worked so hard to get you here, we wouldn't want you run off and disappear, now, would we? So we're making you wear this as a precaution, okay, child?" Jitt said with a dark smile, holding my chin in his right hand.

"O-okay Mr. Jitt…" I said, flinching away from him and his touch.

"It is good that you understand me… I wouldn't want my handiwork to go to waste, and I want you to realize that if you try to do any of those things, try to hurt _my _Prince, I will do everything in my power to make you so ugly and horrid in his eyes that he'll want nothing to do with you and kill you in your sleep. I'm _only _helping with this since I know I cannot be with my Prince because of my gender and I'm deciding to give you a chance since you don't seem as snooty and manipulative as most girls around here that I've met… but if you prove me wrong, I'll make you disappear. Don't let me down, girl." Jitt said ominously, pushing me away from him, causing me to fall backwards onto the floor.

"Jitt;" Kat scolds the Koopa next to her, "don't say those things to her! You're scaring her! Don't worry, sweetums, I won't let mean old Jitt hurt you! I'll keep you safe and make you as pretty as possible, cause I bet you're a wonderful lady, and I'm sure Prince Ludwig will love you! You're so adorable! He's bound to fall for you eventually!" Kat said, helping me up, and pulling me into her embrace.

"Don't feed her such lies, Kat, you know just as well as I do that it is very doubtful that Prince Ludwig would ever fall in love with her or find her attractive. You're just trying to fill the world with your over romanticized ideals again. Just give it up. I'm sure the only person the Prince Ludwig probably ever loved was his dead girlfriend, and even though I hope he would love me and want to be with me, he just can't because of my gender and his status." Jitt replied, glaring at his raven-haired partner.

"Jitt, stop it! Prince Ludwig has rejected you sixteen times because he doesn't like you in that manner; he doesn't swing that way. Why not try to support the new girl instead of brooding in your romantic fantasies!" Kat said, hands on her hips.

"Fine, Kat, I will… besides, he's only going to be a regent until Prince Bowser Jr. finally takes the throne or something. No one knows what goes on in our current King's head when it comes to the line of succession. We just follow his orders about it. Once Prince Ludwig is off of the throne, he'll probably murder this girl and then marry me, anyways. So I'll help her for now, to make sure he can get to the throne. He might get put on one of the outer thrones, though, and Junior on the center throne, though. It's a possibility." Jitt said, crossing his arms.

"Fine… I don't care what your reasons are, just help dear Tiana sweetums!" Kat said, and then she grabbed my hand. "Now, Tiana sweetums," she said, "it's time for us to head off to the dining hall so you can meet Prince Ludwig, King Bowser, and the rest of the royal family."

"I-it is…?" I asked incredulously, gulping.

"Yup," said Kat, "it is!" and with that, Kat's grip on my hand tightened, and she ran out of the room dragging me behind her as Jitt followed slowly behind us glaring daggers into my back the whole way. _If this was how this was all going to start, I'm afraid of seeing what happens next. These two were crazy enough. What is going to be in store for me when I meet the royal family?_ I thought those things as Kat and I ran through the halls. Then, she stopped in front of a large, wooden door, and she pushed it open slowly… and I was surprised at what I saw on the other side of that door, the side of it that is leading to my future.


	7. UPDATE

Hi guys, sorry for being gone for so long and not updating this recently, however, I've been swamped with graduating high school and preparing for college. And part of this process has caused me to get a new computer (previously I just used the home computer, now I have a computer of my own) and I haven't gotten my files all transferred over from the home computer to my computer, so i haven't been able to update, since I've been using my computer much more than the home computer. I'm gonna try to get the files transferred within the next couple of days, and get the next chapter posted, and makes sure I get a few more chapters typed out in rough form and go through editing and revising ones that already have the roughs typed. This should lead to the story getting updated by the start of September. So, guest reviewer, thank you for sending in that review telling me to post more, cause I almost forgot about this fanfiction existing while dealing with all of the stuff surrounding preparing for college starting in September, including moving into a dorm. Good thing I check my email daily and get notifications about reviews in my emails! I'm glad you want more of this story, I'll do better about updating more consistently!

Have a nice day, y'all!


	8. The First Clash

**Chapter 3- The First Clash**

**~N~**

Tiana was standing there, quaking and shaking, terrified as she always has been of large groups of people. Several guards snorted quietly. _This _was the specimen that was brought in to be the potential bride for Prince Ludwig. This _weakling_? Some guards began to snicker, believing that this was some kind of joke, and that Kat and Jitt would push her aside, and present the real potential bride, that they were doing this for a laugh. But as the seconds ticked by, they soon realized that this terrified little thing _was _the girl that was brought, and that this was in no way a joke. As the snickers stopped, Ludwig looked up from the sheet music he had been scribbling his newest composition on. Ludwig had not been paying attention, but realized the room went from being noisy like it usually was to being much too quiet. And the last time it was like this, it was when his father announced that Ludwig had to either find a girl he likes and bring her to the castle to become his future bride within the month, or Bowser would be forced to send some of his underlings to grab a random girl that Ludwig would be forced to marry- unless he finds some other girl in the course of three months from when the random girl is brought. And to his displeasure, there stood a girl. A terrified looking girl, but one none the less.

With a sigh, Ludwig opens the drawer that his section of the dining table has, to store his compositions while eating, and similar activities, especially since he wrote with a quill dipped in ink, and when arguments occur, and the ink is not closed, it splatters everywhere due to his family's bad habit of slamming their hands on the table or stomping their feet on the ground during said arguments. And Ludwig knew his own patience was becoming thinner by the second. With a light 'thunk' and a resounding 'click', Ludwig closed and locked the drawer. He then stood up and looked down on Tatiana, staring directly into her terrified eyes.

"Who are you." The sentence was spat viciously from Ludwig's mouth.

"M-m-m-m-my name i-is T-t-t-tiana…" Tatiana spluttered while staring into Ludwig's dark eyes that were glaring at her with a stare so piercing she was surprised she didn't have any stab marks on her body.

"Well, T-t-t-tiana, I doubt you're worthy enough to be my wife and bear my children." Ludwig snarled.

"Your majesty, her name is Tiana, not T-t-t-tiana!" Kat interjects, "She's just a little bit nervous, don't make fun of her for her sutter!"

"What gives you the right to speak to me like that?" Ludwig asked, eyes flashing. Kat flinched back, smile still plastered on her face like always, unsure of how to respond.

"Well, your Majesty, it is unbecoming of a prince such as yourself to make fun of the girl's stutter, unless you want to stoop to the level of your siblings." Jitt says, scowling all the while. Only stepping in to keep his beloved prince from making a fool of himself. Ludwig grimaces.

"True, stooping to the level of those simpletons would be terrible action for myself to engage in. But at the same time, shouldn't that mean the woman that I marry and create children with be above the levels of those simpletons, too?" Ludwig snidely remarked.

"Well, son, _do you _have some other girl you'd rather have? If not, this is who it's going to be. Introduce yourself, you need to at least be on speaking terms with the woman who will someday be the mother of your children, your _heirs_, correct, son?" Bowser replied, smoke billowing out of his nostrils.

"No, father." Ludwig replied, "My name is Ludwig, and I would prefer it if you never talk to me or interact with me at all, but it seems at this point we'll be forced to, you- you weak little girl- _ahem- _I mean _Tiana_." Tiana nodded, still trembling. But she was soon guided to the empty chair at the foot of the table. And at that moment the clock began ticking. Either Ludwig finds some other girl, or these two, even if Ludwig despises her, will be wed for the convenience of the kingdom.

There are only 3 months left.

**AN: **

Sorry for this chapter being shorter than the other story based chapters, I just thought that y'all might appreciate some more of the plot being posted, while I'm in the process of transferring files and editing what I do have. And I felt like this section was a good ending point. Originally, this was going to be a line break, and lead into the next section of one chapter, but now it's split into two chapters. I hope you enjoyed reading this! I love getting reviews!


	9. The First Clash (Part Two)

**Chapter 4- The First Clash (Part 2)**

**~N~**

The rest of dinner on the night of her arrival went by silently, well, as silently as the koopalings as a group could be, especially when gorging themselves on food. However, neither Ludwig nor Tiana spoke for the rest of that meal. Afterwards, Tiana was escorted back to the room that she will be staying in, a guest room that is decently designed. Once inside, Kat and Jitt set to help her remove the gown they put her in, and remove her make-up and simplify her hair, and helping her prepare for bed. They finished quickly and quietly. However, Kat couldn't take the silence, and decided to speak.

"Get some sleep, honey, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." Kat said to Tiana sweetly, "The King wants to speak with you about the scenario you're currently in. And Princess Wendy has begged for you to be brought to her, since she wants to befriend her brother's future wife, and wants a girl to spend time with. You also will be eating with the royal family at all meals from now on. And you will be given a tour of the castle, since you'll be living here for the next 3 months."

"T-three months…?" Tiana whispered.

"Or less, if Ludwig decides to kill you before then." Jitt said apathetically.

"Ludwig won't kill her, Jitt!" Kat replies sternly, her smile starting to seem much creepier than it always has been, since it's stuck there on her face, no matter what is happening around her.

"Yeah, and I'm the long-lost King of the Mushroom Kingdom." Jitt spat sarcastically.

"You don't need to so rude to her Jitt! She's probably terrified! Besides, I think you're more likely to kill her than Ludwig…"

"True, very true… the only reason I'm even allowing this bitch to live is if Ludwig has her, the public will be happy, and I can pursue my romance with him from outside the public eye, and won't have to be worried about being killed for preventing my dearest Ludwig from producing heirs."

"You're a twisted fucker* Jitt."

"And you're a creepy bitch, Kat."

"Whatever, we need to leave Tiana to sleep now. Besides, this isn't the best location for this conversation anyways. You know Ludwig's room is right across the hall!"

"You're right. Let's head to the servants' quarters. Goodnight, you ugly, useless thing."

"Good night Tiana, have wonderful dreams!"

"Good night, you two."

And with that Kat and Jitt left the room. Tiana stood in the center of the room as Kat and Jitt closed and locked the door behind them. Intently searching her surroundings, she finds her room has a window, a barred window that gave her a beautiful view of the moat of magma that surrounded the castle. She knew there was no way out. She was stuck here. Either until she was killed by Ludwig, or until she was dead from natural causes. She would never see her family again. Her fragile heart began to splinter under the pressure, exploding into thousands of shards of glass as that realization sunk in. She threw herself onto the bed, and sobs began racking her body. She cried and trembled with fear. This went on for hours. Tiana never fell asleep that night.

Ludwig paced his music room, grumbling under his breath. Grumbling about tradition, about loveless marriage, about broken hearts, about loves that never came to be, about how he doesn't want this pressure, about how he found composing music far more important than matters of state and government. Ludwig paced and grumbled for half an hour, before he sat down and began composing a new song, one inspired by the events of the last few months, ending dramatically with tonight. The title it gained was 'Odyssey of Love', and he left his composition on his desk to dry, before he headed to his bedroom. He heard sobs coming from Tiana's rom as he walked to the door of his room.

He felt a pang of sadness at the sound, but shrugged it off. He wasn't going to allow himself to become close to anyone again. Especially not some girl that was grabbed off the streets to be his wife and bear his children. Not after what happened with _her. _Not after watching his beloved Fleur die before his eyes.

*****Kat has no ill intent when stating this, she sees as a nickname for Jitt, similar to the /_ahem_/ friendly nicknames he gives her. She has a curse set upon her where she cannot just go around and say those things to anyone, but she can get away with this since it is a "friendly, matching nickname" to the nicknames Jitt gives her.

**AN: **Starting with the next chapter, each chapter will focus on one or more days in the countdown. Next chapter is "Day One/Part One", the chapter after is "Day One/Part Two", and the chapter after is "Days Three Through Five/Part One". Those chapters should begin appearing before September 15th. I should have either: both of the Day One parts, OR all three of those chapter completed and posted by then. However, there will be a period of time of no updates from September 16th to about the end of September, since that is when I'm moving into my dorm and my first week of classes starts on the 21st. I have a job interview on the 20th. I'll try to get a barebones version of some chapters done during this time frame, but no guarantees, since I will be extremely busy. Thank you for reading! And I love getting reviews!


	10. Day One PART 1

**A/N: **Hey guys, I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update! Preparing for college and adapting to college life took a lot longer than I thought it would! And I've had a lot of homework for my Honors class. In fact, I should start doing some research for the 15-20 page paper that is due next month for the midterm, but a lot of homework counts as research, so I don't think it matters. And unfortunately, the preparing for college stuff made it so I don't really have any chapters in reserve for a constant update schedule yet. I have this chapter and some of the next chapter done. However, I'll try to schedule in writing time along with homework time so I can get some written and get more consistent in updates. Please enjoy this chapter! Read and review!

**Chapter 5: Day One, Part 1**

**NPOV:**

It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, Koopas like Ludwig can't help but remember the event that dragged them into his personal hell. It happened three years ago, but Ludwig had spiraled so deeply into depression, he lost track of time as it passed, and sees it as only a few months ago, in denial of it being so long since it happened. Ah, yes, you must be wondering what 'it' is, aren't you? Don't worry, I am getting to that. It happened three years ago, to this day, after Bowser had kidnapped Princess Peach for the umpteen-zillionth time. For the most part it was like usual. The kidnapping, the screaming of the princess, the Koopalings being placed in the various castles of the areas leading up to where their father was with the princess. But this time, there was something significantly different. Each Koopaling was given a new set of soldiers to lead, stronger than those of the past, to set up in their castle as they wish, to make the challenge of getting to the princess much more difficult for Mario.

When Ludwig met his group of soldiers, he learned that the leader of the group was a young woman by the name of Fleur. She was small and looked unintimidating, yet was ferocious and vicious in battle, and you never wanted to be facing the business end of the spear she carried. But she was also kind and cared for her fellow soldiers as family, and would put her life on the line to save as many of them as possible. When Ludwig first met her, he thought nothing of it. He didn't realize he was going to fall in love with this woman. He just knew that she was strong. And that Mario would have a much more difficult time getting past him if he had a partner during the battle. This is when he struck up the idea.

"Soldier Fleur," he said, "Your new orders lead you to be stationed with me for the upcoming battle with Mario." Fleur saluted and took that role. Over the course of the next few weeks that it took Mario to travel to them, they became best friends, and fell in love. But neither of them really realized it. Until Ludwig was working on a new piece of music and couldn't get Fleur out of his head. He brought these feelings up with his father, and learned the source of them- love. He was in love with Fleur. He soon confessed to Fleur, and she agreed to go out with him. For a week, they lived in paradise, or so it seemed. And then… the day came. The day Ludwig would soon come to curse. The day that filled him with hate. Mario had made it into the castle. He got past the majority of Ludwig's guards much to easily, leaving their corpses in his wake. He entered the room, with fiery anger in his eyes.

"Give me back the Princess, you disgusting Koopa."

"You should know the drill by now, plumber. _Your princess is in another castle._"

But it was in that instance that Fleur noticed something about Mario, something new, something different. He was holding a spear that looked much like hers. With only small differences. A spear she recognized, since she designed it for her fiancé.

"You killed him!" she screeched at Mario, "You killed Lucifer! You killed my fiancé! You killed him!" She ran at Mario, tears in her eyes, with her spear aimed at his heart.

"F-fiancé…?" Ludwig stated in disbelief. Not only did she have a fiancé the whole time they were together, but it was one of their subordinates.

"Oh… oh stars… you, you were never supposed to know your majesty!" Fleur said, spinning around to face Ludwig, "At least, at least not until I could talk to you about me having him as… as basically a concubine, I guess? Since how could I say no when the prince asked me out? You could have me killed! I'm so sorry, Ludwig!"

"Fleur, it's fine," Ludwig said through the tears that he felt stinging his eyes, "I just thought… I was your only, but its fine. If I had known you were with someone, I would never have asked you out."

"Oh Ludwig, I'm so sorry! I really do lo-" but she never got to finish that sentence. Since in that instant, Mario stabbed the spear he stole through Fleur's neck. Her eyes slowly closed, and her body soon fell to the ground, blood spilling out all around her. Ludwig was pissed.

"We've never harmed Peach, yet here you are, killing my girlfriend, you- you fiend! How dare you call yourself the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom if you do something so vile that even we wouldn't do?!" Ludwig screamed. Mario shrugged, and just ran off, while Ludwig kneeled on the ground, cuddling the Fleur's body close to his, crying over her corpse. These memories haunt him until this very day.

These are the thoughts he is consumed with when he heads to breakfast that morning. He spends breakfast in silence, despite the glares his father sent him the entire meal. He soon stood, only leaving his breakfast half eaten, and walked away to his music room, to hide behind his music, from these emotions, from people, from everything that was currently happening. He just didn't have the energy to deal with anything right now.

**TPOV:**

I was exhausted, my face red, covered in tracks from tears. Kat and Jitt helped me clumsily get dressed, as we headed to breakfast. Everyone was chatting loudly, but I didn't have the energy to talk to anyone. I was too emotionally drained from my crying last night, and too exhausted from my lack of sleep. I quietly picked at my food, not hungry whatsoever. I looked up occasionally at the others at the table, and I could see Bowser glaring at Ludwig. Probably upset that Ludwig wasn't trying to converse with me, his supposed future bride.

Soon there was a loud screech as he pushed his chair away from the table and stalked away. Where to, I am not sure. But soon the others finish and leave, until the only ones left are the King and myself. With a motion of his hand, I can tell he wants me to follow him. I soon stand, and while tired and incapable of standing straight or walking properly, I followed behind as dutifully as I could, not sure what would happen if I didn't keep up and follow him. He led me to a large, wooden door. Opening the door revealed an office, with a desk with a large chair behind it, and a smaller chair in front of it. He points to the smaller chair, and I quickly go to sit. He sits in the larger chair.

"Now, I am sure you are confused to what all is going on. Don't worry, small one, I will explain all of this situation to you. Hopefully nothing… bad happens before then. But you are meant to become the wife of one of my children. You will be my daughter-in-law, so it is important for us to get to know each other, wouldn't you agree?" Bowser stated, with face slowly morphing into a terrifying snarl. With a gulp, I nodded in agreement.

"Then, let us begin." Bowser said, as the door to the room suddenly slammed shut, and Kamek was there, standing in front of it. I feel fear shake me to my core, at the uncertainty of what will come next.


	11. AN Winter 2016

Sorry, not a chapter, just a notice: I have not given up on this story, I have just been scary busy with adjusting to college life, my new job, living on campus, and dealing with midterms, and I have finals the next couple of days. However, starting on December 8th, going until January 7th, I will be on winter break. I will try to get more chapters written and posted during that time, including creating a backlog so I can get to more regularly posting. Sorry for how long its been since I've posted.

See you soon, lovelies!

-aeschtunesfan

December 3, 2016


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